This is the first of Sporting News' 30 MLB team previews, which will run through March 30.

Houston will be universally picked to finish at the bottom of the American League West this season.

Jason Castro (AP Photo)

In future years, though, that may not be the case. The Astros’ long, carefully planned rebuild has the team pointing in the right direction—even if the process is a little painful. In their first season in the tough AL West, the Astros lost a major league-worst 111 games.

It’s a given, with a club that has zero shot to contend, that there are a lot of needs. What’s surprising might be what Houston is doing right: compiling top talent with a run of No. 1 picks, and assembling one of the top farm systems in baseball.

The Astros took Stanford starter Mark Appel with the first pick in last June’s draft, and shortstop Carlos Correa with the top pick the year before. Correa is ranked the team’s best prospect by Baseball Prospectus, and Appel the third best. Houston will again have a No. 1 pick in June.

“Potential superstar,” Baseball Prospectus says of Correa, who could be up by the end of the season if he’s moved along quickly from Double-A. And consensus says that Appel will be with the Astros at some point this summer, especially given Houston’s need for pitching. The club’s 4.79 ERA was the worst in the big leagues in 2013.

Jose Altuve (AP Photo)

So that was an area of emphasis in the offseason, with the Astros signing veteran starters Scott Feldman and Jerome Williams, experienced reliever Chad Qualls and 2013 All-Star reliever Jesse Crain. And, of course, the very raw pitching staff of 2013 has gained some big-league talent, which also should help.

“Because we have more established players and we’ve added veteran players to that core group, you look at our roster, and we overall have a better group of talented players,” manager Bo Porter says. “That’s going to equate to more wins on the baseball field.”

Houston also added center fielder Dexter Fowler, who is coming off a down year in Colorado after being hit with various injuries. The 27-year-old switch hitter becomes the Astros’ best defensive player and potentially their top offensive weapon while batting out of the leadoff spot.

“He’s a guy that can impact the game on defense,” Porter says. “He can impact the game in the batter’s box. He can impact the game on the basepaths.”

Beyond Fowler, second baseman Jose Altuve and catcher Jason Castro—the team’s 1-2-3 hitters, according to Porter—there are more questions than not. First baseman/DH Chris Carter, obtained from Oakland last season for shortstop Jed Lowrie, led the team with 29 homers and 82 RBIs, but he also struck out at a furious pace, with 212, a franchise record and third most in MLB history.

Houston hitters combined for 1,530 strikeouts in all, a major league record. That mark must come down in 2014, and the walks need to go up. The Astros drew 426 bases on balls, the 25th-best mark in baseball. The team’s .299 on-base percentage was last in the league, with 610 runs scored being the second-lowest total.

Some bright spots included excellent defense from third baseman Matt Dominguez. In his first full big-league year, Dominguez contributed 21 homers, second on the team to Carter. Shortstop Jonathan Villar led all MLB rookies with 18 steals, and that was in just 57 games.

Outfielder Robbie Grossman is likely to stick with the club this season after batting .322 during his second stint up in 2013. And the organization’s No. 2 prospect, George Springer, who like Correa played in the Futures Game, could get a look in the outfield after hitting 30 homers and stealing 30 bases between Double-A and Triple-A last year.

Castro was the team’s lone All-Star. He’s steady behind the plate and hit 18 homers, making him the target of trade rumors. He missed the end of last season with a knee injury but is expected to be fine for spring training.

Houston has accumulated a lot of talent in the rotation and the bullpen, but most of the team’s pitchers lack seasoning. The cream of the crop is 23-year-old righthander Jarred Cosart, who made 10 starts and put up a 1.95 ERA with the Astros after debuting in July. Lefthander Brett Oberholtzer, 24, also made 10 starts (and 13 appearances), putting up a 2.24 ERA in those starts, and righthanders hit .216 against him. Former Nationals and A’s prospect Brad Peacock, 26, improved over the course of last season, with a 3.67 ERA in his final 12 games (including nine starts) and posted a 5.18 ERA overall. Lefty Dallas Keuchel went 6-10 with a 5.15 ERA in 31 games, making 22 starts. Righthanders Lucas Harrell and Alex White will also compete for rotation spots.

On the relief side, righthander Josh Zeid had a promising final two months, stranding 15 of 17 inherited runners. He had a 1.23 ERA in September. Chia-Jen Lo and Josh Fields both got save opportunities, and Lo, a Taiwanese righty, held hitters to a .203 average. Fields, also a rookie, had an ERA of 4.97 in 41 games but converted five of six save chances, and opponents hit .220 against him. He, too, stranded 15 of 17 inherited runners. And another rookie, lefty Kevin Chapman, looked impressive after coming up in August, not allowing an earned run in his first 13 appearances.

Houston also acquired righthander Anthony Bass from the Padres in December along with signing Qualls, Crain and Matt Albers. Those moves give the Astros the makings of a much-improved bullpen over last year’s.

SCOUT’S VIEW

A major league scout analyzes CF Dexter Fowler:

“He’s better than what they had. He’s a better leadoff-type of presence. He will change the lineup for the better. He’s a switch hitter and a solid defender—and that was (while) playing in a spacious park (at Colorado). He had a breakout season in 2012 and regressed somewhat in 2013, and his home/road splits strongly favor Coors Field, so it will be interesting to see how he does at Minute Maid Park. He’s a good center fielder, like an old-school Devon White—smooth, graceful, positions himself well, great instincts. He has a high ceiling; I think this was a nice pickup. He’ll steal some bases, probably hit .260-.270, hit 15 homers.”

VIEW FROM THE OTHER DUGOUT

A scout's take on the Astros:

“I think they’ll be better. It would be hard to be worse. I think they’ve added a few pieces, and I like Bo Porter’s energy—he’s definitely the right guy for that situation. They’re still so young. Are some of these big-name prospects ever going to come into their own? Brett Wallace is not the answer, I’m not sure Chris Carter is the answer. I like (Jonathan) Villar—he’s a cheap man’s Josh Reddick, but he needs to mature. I love (Matt) Dominguez—he’s a potential Gold Glove third baseman. …

“They play hard for nine innings, and that’s a testament to Bo, but they’ll finish in last place. Scott Feldman will help if he can get back where he was; he’s a good add. Their rotation is seriously lacking, though there is definite talent there with (Brad) Peacock and (Brett) Oberholtzer. If (catcher) Jason Castro is healthy, great, but if he gets traded, it’s a long year for the pitching staff. …

“They definitely have a plan in place, and they’ll be able to parlay their record into another top draft pick. They’re accumulating a lot of top-tier talent.”

Scott Feldman (AP Photo)

IMPACT NEWCOMER

Feldman, the longtime Rangers starter, moves south with a three-year contract and becomes the savvy veteran in a rotation full of inexperienced youngsters. The righthander has pitched in 234 MLB games, he’s pitched in the postseason and he’s won as many as 17 times in a season.

KEY STAT

Houston’s young pitching staff gave up 616 walks last season, the most in the majors since the Nationals gave 629 free passes in 2009. It’s a figure that goes a long way toward explaining the major league-high 848 runs allowed by the Astros in 2013.

BOTTOM LINE

Houston will finish last in the AL West again, but with a great quantity of promising talent around the diamond and especially on the pitching staff, this team should improve and become more “watchable.” Look for splashy debuts by Appel and Springer, and potentially Correa. And watch out in 2015 or 2016.

This content originally appeared in the Sporting News 2014 Baseball Yearbook. To order a copy, click here.